Myst: The Search For D'ni
by katrinaskyylerrose
Summary: A team led by Doctor Myers links to an ancient city home to the D'ni. What will they find once they arrive?
1. Default Chapter

A tall man stood under the hot blazing sun. He took out a handkerchief and blotted his brow.

"Okay men, that's it," he yelled. "Careful now, don't let it fall!"

The machines pulled at the heavy glass, as it weaved from side to side. Finally, it was lowered to the sand with a heavy "thump".

"This is it boys," he said smiling, "This is the moment we've all been waiting for."

The sharp sound of picks on glass echoed across the desert, as the doctor sat in his tent speaking with the director.

"It is the only book remaining on earth," the doctor said, "It links us with an ancient civilization that was so advanced it would make your imagination run wild. Don't you understand the possibilities this holds?"

"Yes, but forgive me Doctor Myers, haven't the D'ni been dead for hundreds of years?"

"No, Mr. Pearson, they are a race that has existed for millions upon millions of years. I have yet to conclude that they have simply vanished without a trace. That's why this discovery is so important; all our questions will be answered, if we take a chance."

"Yes, but with no linking book, how can we get back?"

"That is the risk, but as someone who has studied the D'ni for many years, I am willing to take this risk. The D'ni may have a linking book there linking back here or we could work our way through their extensive tunnel system back to the surface."

"But Doctor, if we can get to the city through tunnels, why travel through the book?"

"Simply because it would take forever to work our way through the extensive tunnel system, nobody has a map that shows us the way. The D'ni were great builders with rock and great borrowers through it. For some, it was their life. It's much more complex than you or even I can conceive."

A young man approaches the tent.

"Father, may I come in?"

"Yes, Alex, please join us."

"Hello, Mr. Pearson. Father, I think you should be the first to know, they have the book."

"Excellent!" the doctor exclaimed.

The three men stepped out of the tent, the doctor leading the way.

"Sir," aboy said holding out the precious book to him.

The doctor took the book and examined it in his outstretched arms. It was deep green with a single D'ni symbol carved into the aging cover. The doctor knew at once, the name of this book…Life…the city D'ni carved in letters beneath. Indeed D'ni held life for all the people there. It had since before the beginning of time.

"Well," he thought, "this is it…"


	2. Chapter 2

Over the next four months, the plans became finalized. First, teams were put together to analyze the language and writings of the D'ni. Then, supplies were put together for the main team as well as technology chosen to share with the D'ni. Among the items chosen were a battery, flashlight, radio, camera, slide projector with slides, and two cellular phones. Finally, the main team was assembled, consisting of the Doctor, Mr. Morris (an artist), Ms. Kimbly (an author), Mr. Garison (a carpenter), Mrs. Bayfield (a baker), and finally Mrs. Alcott (a teacher). A field team was also assembled consisting of Mr. Applegate (a chemist), Mr. Felder (a soil analyst), Ms. Connoway (a biologist), and Mr. Kelp (a precipitation analyst). The Doctor's son was going as well.

Finally, the linking day arrived and everything was in place.

Three bottles of champagne were opened to celebrate the linking.

Doctor Myers was the first to link. He approached the book and slowly brushed his hand over the moving picture.

The city was immense, but the most surprising thing was the fact that it was all inside a huge cavern under the ground. The buildings were ancient, yet beautiful. There was a lake close to the city with a few rock islands sticking up out of it. Houses and buildings were sprinkled over the steep rock islands. Another surprising effect was the orange glow appearing from within the water, which had the appearance of a moon within the great cavern. There didn't seem to be any occupants outside the city, but perhaps within the actual buildings he would find someone.

He approached a tall dark blue building and knocked on the door. After waiting for several minutes, he heard a noise coming from within, but no one answered the door.

"Well," he thought to himself, "they must be hiding from me."

So, he went to sleep, right in front of the house, leaning up against the door.

In the morning, he awoke to find a tall man standing directly in front of him. He got up quickly, brushing the dust from his pants.

"Hello," the doctor said in D'ni.

"What did you say?" asked the man.

"I said hello. My name is Dr. Myers, what's yours?"

"My name is Ataru, son of Yeesha, daughter of Atrus, son of Gehn, son of Aitrus, but tell me…how do you know of our language?"

"I have studied the history of your people for many years; we have come to teach you and to learn from you."

"Then, you are from above…the surface," he stared as if the doctor were some alien from outer space, "Well, come on then, I will take you to my house."

They arrived at a tall red house; a woman opened the door and let the two men in.

"This is my wife, Helen."

"Pleased to meet you Helen, my name is Dr. Myers."

She nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"So," Ataru interrupted, "When are the rest of you arriving?"

"In a few hours," the doctor replied.

"Good, I think we will meet with the counsel. But for now, please sit and I will give you something to eat," Ataru said gesturing to an open chair at the table.

The doctor sat down with Ataru at a simple wooden table. Shortly, a young woman came down the stairs and sat down in another empty chair.

"Who is this?"

"Our daughter Adrian," replied Ataru.

The young girl said not a word, but ate her breakfast and went back upstairs.

"Why did she leave so quickly?" the doctor asked curiously.

"There is something I will tell you about our daughter…she can't speak. She never could speak, and even the healers don't know why." Changing the subject, he added, "Perhaps we should go find your friends now."

"Yes," the doctor replied turning towards Helen and thanking her for the meal.

When they arrived at the linking spot, the team was standing there looking around in amazement. Then, they were all taken to the counsel.

The counsel consisted of five men. They all wore sacred D'ni cloaks and were all elders. One of the men was Master Atrus, the grandfather of Ataru.

"Please be seated," Master Atrus instructed.

Everyone sat down and studied the old master.

"Now, I have spoken with my grandson and he has told me you are here to discover our secrets and we will be shown you're…technology…as you call it. I firmly believe and have told the rest of the counsel as much that this will be a wonderful opportunity. We haven't had visitors from the outer world visit us for centuries. To start off with, I would like to see this…technology."

"Surely," replied the doctor holding up a battery, "This is a battery, it may look small, but it contains great power. These batteries provide power for many other things, such as this flashlight."

With that, the doctor turned on the flashlight. A cry of astonishment was heard throughout the crowd. Then, to prove his point, the doctor removed the battery and tried to turn it on again.

"As you will see, it doesn't work without the battery. Now you try," he said handing the flashlight over to one of the elders. He tried to turn it on, but nothing happened.

"Now, with the battery," the doctor said putting in the battery. This time it worked.

Every one of the D'ni present gasped.

"Next, I will show you a radio. I'm not sure if this will work because the radio waves which produce the sound might not be able to come through the earth, especially at this depth. But we'll see what happens."

The doctor switched on the radio. At first, nothing but static was heard, but suddenly music came forth. It was faint, but still made quite an impression on the D'ni who had never before heard music coming from anything other than a crude form of musical instrument.

"Our metallic sounds are nothing like this," replied the great master.

"Just wait," said the doctor, "there's more."

He took out a Polaroid camera and took a picture of the elders. Then, he gave the picture to them. This was greeted with much criticism.

"How do we know you haven't taken away a part of us by taking this…picture?" asked the great master.

"No, pictures aren't evil," replied the doctor," they provide us with tangible memories, so we can relive any moment in our lives."

Then, the doctor took out the slide projector and the slides. He turned it on facing the white sheet he had set up earlier and pictures appeared instantly. The D'ni liked this very much because it looked similar to a picture within their books, except this one didn't move about.

Finally, the doctor brought out the cellular phones.

"These are for communication," he said, "For instance, if you live in the city and your friend lives on an island over there, and you want to talk with each other without leaving your home, all you have to do is call your friend's number and your friend answers the phone."

"We can try this now if you'd like," he added.

"Okay," the great master replied.

The doctor went with one of the elders to an island while Mr. Felder helped Master Atrus turn on his phone. The phone in the city rang.

"Now, say hello into the phone," Mr. Felder instructed.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is the doctor," he heard coming out the other end.

"Wow, you sound like the doctor, but you're on the island. That's impossible."

"No, the sound is carried through sound waves and satellite," the doctor explained.

Then, he handed the phone to the elder next to him, who chatted with Master Atrus for awhile. Afterwards, they returned to the counsel building.

"We are most amazed with your wonderful technology you have shown us and therefore, we have decided to discuss with you the knowledge you seek about us," Master Atrus said.

"Well, sir. I think it would be a good idea for us all to get some rest, I'm sure we're all very tired…and overwhelmed," replied the doctor, "We could meet back here in the morning."

"Yes, I agree. I would like you and your son to stay with my grandson and the rest of your team can split up and stay with other families from the city."

The doctor and Alex returned to the house with Ataru, while the others figured out where they would spend the night.

In the morning, they all had a hearty breakfast and set off to the counsel once again.


End file.
